Birthday bonsai tree

Twinny99

Hello clever green fingered people :j

I was lucky enough to receive a bonsai tree for my birthday last week and have recently found out that it is a 'podocarpus', other names include 'chinese yew', and 'buddist pine'. There is a lot of information available on the best way to care for it but all the sites I've come across assume some basic knowledge of trees / green stuff in general and I have none! I live in a little first floor flat with no garden so this is all very new but the tree is lovely and I dont want to kill it.

At the moment it is in my kitchen under the window but far away enough from the cooker so hopefully the heat won't kill it. It gets plenty of light too.

If anyone has any experience or tips I'd be grateful

fwor

The most important thing to get right to start with is watering.

Ideally it should never get completely dry, but also avoid waterlogging as well. Typically they are planted in only a small amount of soil/compost so they can dry out really quickly when it's warm, so you will probably need to get someone to look after it carefully while you're away on holiday.

If you're in a hard water area it will probably also be better to water it with rainwater rather than tap water.

Other things to get to grips with are what/when to feed it, how to prune and shape it, and how frequently it will need to be repotted. There are quite a few online guides on this.

Twinny99

Feed it???? I have to feed it?? I do live in a hard water area so I will collect rainwater to water it. I am going to get a small squirty bottle as I read somewhere that its good to spray the leaves and bark as well as just watering the bottom.

I do have a feeling that this won't end well though

Janey3

Don't worry - they don't need a 3 course meal:rotfl:You can get Bonsai feed from most garden centres - I feed my bonsai once a month. It's plant food specifically for bonsai. Just add it to the water when you water your bonsai. I'm a newbie bonsai grower too, having been given two trees as a gift. I've picked up quite a few books for beginners in charity shops. I stand my indoor bonsai on the kitchen draining board and water until I can see the water trickling through the bottom and down the draining board.

Twinny99

Can barely feed myself and now I need to feed the tree LOL!

Thanks Janey - I shall go and investigate bonsai gourmet meals :j

Janey3

:rotfl::rotfl: